The St. Louis native played four seasons for Guy Gadowsky. In November, he became the first Nittany Lion ever to reach 100 points in a collegiate career. The two-time All-Big Ten honorable mention finished his time at Penn State with the most game appearances by any player in a career on his way to leading the team to its first NCAA Tournament berth.

SaiPa plays on the south shore of Finland in Lappeenranta. The team’s history dates back to 1948, but it has never won the league. After several seasons as a playoff team, SaiPa finished in last place during the 2016-17 season.

Penn State women’s hockey captain Laura Bowman also is heading to Europe where she will play for Austrian pro team EHV Sabres Vienna.

“I am extremely excited to continue my hockey career with the EHV Sabres Vienna,” Bowman said. “It’s a great opportunity for me to travel around Europe and continue to do something I love.”

The forward is the women’s hockey team’s all-time leading scorer with 61 goals and 104 points. In her senior season, she became the first Nittany Lion to secure All-CHA first team honors. She is also the second Penn State women’s hockey player to become a professional after Jenna Welch played for DEC Salzburg Eagles in 2014-15.

EHV Sabres Vienna plays in the Elite Women’s Hockey League, which is comprised of eight teams from Austria, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, and Slovakia. Despite finishing in sixth place during the 2016-17 slate, the team has won the league’s most titles (five) since it was founded in 2004.

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About the Author

Steve Connelly is a junior majoring in PR and an editor for Onward State. He is a proud native of the state of New Jersey, and yes, he is literal trash. He is a soccer fan, nap enthusiast, and chicken tender connoisseur. He tried to be a photographer once, but the only good thing that came out of it is a name for his future sports bar, The Blurry Zamboni. You can follow him on Twitter @slc2o (feel free to slide) and email him at [email protected]